It’s official, Malaysians are seriously car-crazed. The Google Zeitgeist is a report of trends in its user’s searching behaviour. Other than an overall report, they also have per-country results and each year Google picks relevant popular “topics” so that they can also show sub-lists other than an overall most popular list.

Google’s 2008 Zeitgeist is out and for Malaysia this year we have a new list which shows the fastest rising car searches in Malaysia. Most other countries do not have this list. Why else would Google pick to showcase a list of cars other than if Malaysians are searching for cars all the time? It just shows that Malaysians are increasingly turning to the internet for their automobile purchase research.

The following are the fastest rising car searches in Malaysia for the year 2008. Fastest rising means these search terms saw the largest increase in search volume in 2008 compared to 2007, it does not mean these terms are the largest searched cars by Malaysians on Google.

#1 Perodua Nautica

Top on the list is the Perodua Nautica, which is no surprise as it is the only new local brand car to be launched this year, so there would naturally be a huge gap in search volume between 2007 and 2008. Not many people knew the Nautica project existed in 2007. The Perodua Nautica is a rebadged short wheelbase Toyota Rush and you could say it’s Perodua’s first “CBU car” from Japan, though I’m not sure how it can be called a CBU when the grille and front bumper are made locally in Malaysia. There is only one variant with a 1.5 litre engine and full-time 4WD priced at RM89,900 OTR with insurance.

It looks like the same car occupies the two top spots on the Zeitgeist fastest rising car search list! The Toyota Rush sold in Malaysia is the long wheelbase version, and unlike the short wheelbase Perodua Nautica, it seats 7 instead of 5 as the additional length goes to a third row of seats. 3 variants are available, wiht the most expensive being the 1.5S automatic going for RM94,888. The 1.5G manual goes for RM85,888 while the 1.5G automatic goes for RM88,888.

This is easily the most eagerly awaited vehicle of all by Malaysians, the Proton MPV. If priced correctly, never again will mid-sized families on a budget need to bring two cars out if everyone wants to go have dinner together. The Proton MPV will be launched in the first quarter of 2009, will feature 7 seats with air conditioning for all three rows, and a 1.6 litre Campro CPS engine.

For some reason many people are still referring to the Proton Saga as the Proton BLM, as the BLM still has a larger search volume increase than the Proton Saga on Google. The Proton Saga appears on the same list at the #6 spot. Regularly touted as the new “rakyat’s car”, the Proton Saga is the cheapest way to get a 5-seater sedan with a boot on the market.

Malaysia has seen two generations of the Honda City in recent times and this will be the third generation. The new Honda City will be launched this week, so stay tuned for a detailed launch report on this blog! Features that made the 2nd gen Honda City unique will be gone with the new City – I’m talking about the weird design, the i-DSI engine and the CVT transmission. The new City while also based on a Honda Jazz platform will have a much sleeker roofline and will come with only one engine choice, the 1.5 litre SOHC i-VTEC mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. Expect the high-end variant to have paddle shifts.

As mentioned above, the Proton Saga and the Proton BLM are one and the same.

#7 Grand Livina

The Nissan Grand Livina has been a runaway success for Edaran Tan Chong Motor, helping push its financial records to new heights this year. It just shows how long Malaysians have been eager for a proper driveable 7-seater MPV. I guess we were starting to get bored of the truck-based offerings in Malaysia, and the Grand Livina was a car-based monocoque chassis MPV that drove like a car instead of like a van.

This is said to be the car that is purchased by someone that aspires to own a BMW 5-series, so Honda infused some BMW design cues into this latest generation Accord. It’s also the only Japanese D-segment sedan in Malaysia to come with a large engine option, the 3.5 litre V6 that also happens to feature an advanced cylinder deactivation feature so it can behave and sip petrol like a smaller displacement engine when you don’t need its grunt.

The Perodua Myvi is still selling like hotcakes and has become the default car to buy for fresh graduates, especially those with parents who can help out with some of the downpayment. The appeal of the Myvi has been renewed with the launch of the facelift version this year, which also included a new Myvi SE.

The Honda Civic is still the Malaysian automotive publication’s defacto recommendation thanks to its formula of an exciting interior and exterior design, a large interior space, a sweet revving engine, and a 5-speed auto with dual overdrives for a more relaxed highway cruise. The Honda Civic is due to be facelifted very soon, with the facelift already launched in Japan, Singapore and Thailand. The facelift only has minor exterior changes, namely in the areas of the front bumper and grille and the rear taillamp design.

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.

yeah…..
thats how technologies works today !!!
Nowadays people dont go around th showrooms to find the brochures…
Just easy & convinient steps… log on to internet…. and then compare it with other car models for better value… I myself spend most of the time searchin’ for cars online….

I have searched for all these cars listed sometime this year, and #1 is a surprise to me but then again this list is about the fastest rising. So if last year was 0 searches and this year 1million searches then its no surprise its #1.

But the ultimate number 1 search definitely has to be “seks” or “bogel”, nobody can deny that, and I’m wondering who are the clowns searching for “google” and “yahoo”???

Nautica. Top on search engine, bottom on sales volume. Sure is naughty.

And ‘sex is wonderful bla bla’, im free enough to google your “worse car in the world” string and here’s the outcome:

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Did you mean: worst car in the world
Search Results
‘Worst car in the world’: Wheels: News: General_News
‘Worst car in the world’: Wheels: News: General_News. Malaysia has defended a car made by national carmaker Perodua after Jeremy Clarkson labelled it the …
www.wheels24.co.za/Wheels24/News/General_News/0,,1369-1372-2094_2102194,00.html – 84k – Cached – Similar pages –
The World’s Ugliest Cars – BusinessWeek
The World’s Ugliest Cars. A recent survey selects the worst designed cars of all time. The top pick? The AMC Pacer. Return to the BusinessWeek homepage. …
images.businessweek.com/ss/07/08/0824_uglycars/index_01.htm?chan=rss_topSlideShows_ssi_5 – 2k – Cached – Similar pages –
Worst Car Pileup in World History?
12 Mar 2008 … In what could possibly be described as the worst ever car pile-up in world history, a total of 227 cars and 12 buses collided into one large …
www.wreckedexotics.com/special/dubai/ – 15k – Cached – Similar pages –
Complete List – The 50 Worst Cars of All Time – TIME
From the Trabant to the Lagonda and the De Lorean, the worst cars of the 1980s … World. Australia: Legislating Under the Influence …
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html – 31k – Cached – Similar pages –
The Worst Cars Of All Time – Forbes.com
We had to limit the scope to cars made after World War II. … The Worst American Cars 10.21.02. Remember the Gremlin, the Pinto and the Edsel? …
www.forbes.com/2004/01/26/cx_dl_0126feat.html – Similar pages –
Clarkson: “Almost certainly the worst car in the entire world …
Clarkson: “Almost certainly the worst car in the entire world”. by Alex Nunez on Oct 5th 2008 at 5:06PM. Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 …
www.autoblog.com/2008/10/05/clarkson-almost-certainly-he-worst-car-in-the-entire-world/ – 110k – Cached – Similar pages –
“The worst car in the world?” according to Jeremy « IAIN HALL
“The worst car in the world?” according to Jeremy. Posted on August 7, 2007 by Iain. You will certainly lose all your friends because to justify your …
iainhall.wordpress.com/2007/08/07/the-worst-car-in-the-world-acording-to-jeremy/ – 72k – Cached – Similar pages –
worst car in the world Automobile Blog; September, 2008 Archive
30 Sep 2008 … Top Searches: • worst car in the world • world automobile archive • the worst car in the world • top gear worst car • crappest car in the …
carblog.classifieds1000.com/worst_car_in_the_world – Similar pages –
WorldsWorstCar.com – Is this the World’s Worst Car?
I suppose you’re wondering how you can get your hands on the so-called “world’s worst car”. There will be an eBay auction in July 2008. …
www.worldsworstcar.com/ – 18k – Cached – Similar pages –
Whats Your Worst Car In The World ? – Thailand Forum
25 posts – Last post: 8 Jan 2007
Whats Your Worst Car In The World ? : For the worst most boring car in the world mine has to be the Austin 1100.
www.thaivisa.com/forum/Whats-Worst-Car-World-t100208.html – 104k – Cached – Similar pages –

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Yes, the first result was on Malaysian car, Perodua Kelisa there (commented by Jeremy C). But its not really engineered by Malaysian. Its Japanese rebadge.

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